A recent study involving researchers from West Texas A&M University and Cargill has uncovered a surprising finding that every beef consumer should know about:Â 6,078 out of 20,481 finished cattle examined were identified as lactating at the time of slaughter.
That's nearly 30% of the cattle included in the study.
Even more surprising, the phenomenon wasn't limited to female cattle. Researchers identified lactation in both heifers and steers, including castrated male cattle. Among the cattle examined, 14.6% of native steers and 19.7% of dairy-cross steers were identified as lactating. The findings were presented in the 2025 Plains Nutrition Council Spring Conference Graduate Student Poster Proceedings.
Now, before jumping to conclusions, there is an important distinction to make: the study did not prove that growth-promoting hormone implants caused these cattle to lactate. The research was observational and did not directly compare implanted cattle with non-implanted cattle.
But that doesn't make the finding irrelevant.
In fact, it makes something else incredibly important:
Do you know how your beef was raised?
What Exactly Did Researchers Find?
Researchers examined 20,481 finished cattle originating from 33 feedlots and assessed the animals for evidence of lactation during harvest.
The numbers were significant. Approximately 29.7% of the cattle examined were identified as lactating. Dairy-cross cattle had particularly high rates, with 55.8% of dairy-cross heifers and 19.7% of dairy-cross steers identified as lactating. Native cattle also showed the phenomenon, including 28.8% of native heifers and 14.6% of native steers.
Researchers also collected milk samples from a subset of animals. Those samples contained measurable levels of lactose, fat and protein, providing evidence that the animals identified as lactating were producing mammary secretions with characteristics consistent with milk.
That raises an obvious question:
Why are finished cattle — including castrated male steers — producing milk?
The honest answer is that we don't yet know exactly why.
And that's precisely why this deserves more investigation.
Hormonal Implants Are Part of the Conversation
Growth-promoting implants are widely used in conventional beef production. These implants are small devices placed under the skin of cattle's ears and can contain compounds with estrogenic or other hormone-like activity.
It is important to clarify that these products are not "estrogen vaccines," as they have sometimes been described online. They are growth-promoting implants designed to influence cattle's growth and improve production efficiency.
Hormones play a fundamental role in mammary development and lactation, so the use of hormone-active compounds naturally raises questions when researchers observe unexpected mammary development in finished cattle.
However, the West Texas A&M and Cargill study did not establish that the implants caused the lactation.
That is an important scientific distinction.
But there is another important distinction for consumers:
You shouldn't have to guess whether the cattle you're buying were raised with growth-promoting hormones.
You should be able to ask.
And your farmer should be able to give you a straightforward answer.
This Is Why Knowing Your Farmer Matters
When you purchase beef from a large conventional supply chain, there can be dozens of steps between the animal being raised and the food arriving on your family's dinner table.
You may know the brand on the package.
You may know the grocery store where you bought it.
But do you know the farmer who raised the animal?
Do you know what the animal was fed?
Do you know whether it received growth-promoting implants?
Do you know whether hormones were used?
Do you know where the animal spent its life?
Do you know how it was handled?
For many consumers, the answer to those questions is simply no.
And that's one of the biggest advantages of buying directly from a local farm.
You can actually ask.
At Fat Mountain Farms, There Is No Guessing
At Fat Mountain Farms, we raise our cattle very differently from the conventional feedlot model.
Our cattle are not given growth-promoting hormone implants.
We don't use growth hormones to accelerate their growth.
We don't have to wonder what happened to an animal before it arrived at our farm.
We know because we raised it.
Our cattle spend their lives on pasture, where they graze and move across our farm rather than being raised in a conventional finishing system designed primarily around maximizing growth efficiency.
That doesn't mean our system is automatically "better" in every measurable way, and it certainly doesn't mean conventional farmers don't care about their animals. There are many hardworking cattle producers throughout the conventional industry.
But it does mean that when you buy beef directly from us, you can ask exactly how that animal was raised — and we can give you an answer because we were there.
Your Food Shouldn't Be a Mystery
One of the biggest problems with modern food production isn't necessarily that consumers have no choices.
It's that consumers often don't know what their choices actually mean.
Words like "beef," "natural," "premium," and even attractive packaging don't tell you very much about the animal that ultimately became your food.
The best way to find out is to know your farmer.
Walk the farm.
Ask questions.
Ask what the animals eat.
Ask whether growth-promoting hormones or implants are used.
Ask whether antibiotics are routinely used or only when medically necessary.
Ask where the animals live.
Ask how they are handled.
And if the farmer can't answer those questions, find a farmer who can.
Local Food Gives You Something a Grocery Store Label Can't
When you purchase directly from a local farm, you're not simply buying a package of meat.
You're buying a relationship with the person responsible for raising it.
That relationship creates accountability.
If we tell you our cattle are raised without growth-promoting hormones, you know where to find us. You can come to the farm. You can see our animals. You can ask us questions.
That's fundamentally different from buying a commodity product that may have passed through numerous companies, facilities and distribution centers before reaching your shopping cart.
The further removed you are from the farm, the harder it becomes to know the story behind your food.
The closer you get to the farmer, the easier that story becomes to see.
What Does the Study Actually Prove?
It's worth being very clear about what we know and what we don't.
The West Texas A&M and Cargill study does not prove that growth-promoting implants caused cattle to lactate. More research is necessary to determine what factors are responsible.
But the study does demonstrate that lactation was identified in thousands of finished cattle across a large group of feedlots, including a significant number of steers.
That's an unusual biological finding.
And whenever something unexpected happens in our livestock, we should want to understand why.
For consumers, that is where the importance of knowing your farmer comes in.
You don't have to become an animal scientist.
You don't have to understand every production technology used in the beef industry.
You simply need to be willing to ask:
"How was this animal raised?"
And then buy from someone you trust to give you an honest answer.
The Choice Is Ultimately Yours
There are hardworking farmers using many different production systems to feed this country. Conventional agriculture plays an enormous role in producing affordable food, and this one study shouldn't be used to condemn every conventional cattle producer.
But consumers should also understand that not all beef is raised the same way.
There are farmers who choose a different path.
Farmers who raise cattle on pasture.
Farmers who don't use growth-promoting implants.
Farmers who know their animals individually.
Farmers who are willing to open their gates and show you exactly how your food is produced.
And when you buy directly from those farmers, you're not simply supporting a small business.
You're choosing transparency.
You're choosing to know where your food comes from.
You're choosing to put a farmer's name and face behind the food you're feeding your family.
And you're choosing a food system where you don't have to wonder what happened to your food before it reached your plate.
At Fat Mountain Farms, that's the kind of relationship we want to have with our customers.
We don't want you to simply trust a label.
We want you to know your farmer.
Because when it comes to feeding your family, shouldn't you know the person who raised it?
Buy local. Ask questions. Know your farmer. Know your food.